Bulldogs Kick Off Outdoor Season

Ted Galligan (photo by Sam Rubin '95, Yale Sports Publicity)

Mar 18, 2010

Compete at William and Mary on Saturday

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Bulldogs are
wrapping up their training during spring break and are ready to
kick off the outdoor season at the Tribe Invitational this
Saturday, hosted by William and Mary. Head coach David Shoehalter
said he was pleased with spring training so far.

“Weather to this point has been great. We've been able to
get a few high quality workouts in,” Shoehalter said.

In the throws, freshman Mike Levine will
transition to the discus after competing in the weight throw during
indoor season with a high school PR of 189' 4". Levine has thrown
some impressive marks in his first season and placed fifth at
indoor Heptagonals in the weight throw. Junior David
Smith returns in the shot put with a personal best of
14.81m. The jumps also have many strong contenders. Senior
Eric DePalo made a huge PR in the pole vault to
score for the Bulldogs at Heptagonals. Junior Reynolds
Holmes should also prove a formidable force in the long
jump, while the Bulldogs will look to junior Samba
Binagi and sophomore Yifan Chen in the
triple jump.

The distance events look particularly strong with senior
Chris Labosky coming off a win in the 1,000-meter
run at Heptagonals. The 800-meter run will also be a strong point
with senior Remi Ray, who qualified for indoor
IC4As early in the indoor season, and freshman Chris
Ramsey, who completed an impressive indoor season even
though he had not previously raced indoor in California. Sophomore
Conor Dooney looks ready to make a strong outdoor
debut after sitting out with injuries last season, having ran
several fast times in the indoor mile. In the longer distances,
juniors Matt Bogdan and Max
Walden have both posted IC4A-qualifying times in the
5,000-meter run, while junior Jeff Perrella brings
in a PR of 8:18.44 in the 3,000-meter run. Sophomore Jake
McKenzie also scored for the team in the 3,000-meter run
at Heptagonals. With a deep field of strong runners, the distance
relays should also perform well, with experience from seniors
Kevin Brown and Max Brown,
juniors Alex Harris and Peter
Vizcarrondo, sophomore Andrew Esposito
and freshman Timothy Hillas.

The Bulldogs have a lot of talent in the sprints as well, with
junior Marty Evans and sophomore Matt
Bieszard specializing in the middle sprints. The two
competed in the 400-meter dash at Heptagonals and have been
consistently posting sub-50 times. Senior David
Soiles should prove competitive in the middle sprints
again this year after his strong 500-meter dash performances in
indoor. Sophomore Chris Stanley, who ran on the
4x400 meter relay team that made its season best at indoor
Heptagonals, should also contribute. In the shorter sprints, the
Bulldogs will look to Holmes and junior Nathan
Molina.

The transition to the outdoor season also means several athletes
will be participating in different events. Senior Ted
Galligan will race the longer 400-meter hurdles, having
gained experience running the 4x400-meter relay during indoor
season. The 4x100-meter relay should also prove strong this season.

The men’s competition will start with the shot put at 11
a.m. and conclude with 4x400-meter relay at 5:10 p.m. A complete
schedule can be found here. Results
will be posted on TribeAthletics.com and Yalebulldogs.com after
the meet.